I haven't gotten much back into exercise yet because I have been sick this past week (feeling better the last couple of days.) -- Add to that how insanely cold it is, leaving the house is not so desirable, and neither is the treadmill in my basement where it's equally freezing. BRrrrrrr!

And I should also say: THANK YOU for all the sweet comments on my return to blogging! I missed y'all too.

So, here are a few photos of my juicing / blending station and a bunch of the produce I have on hand right now.

So, tips on falling back in love with fruits and veggies? That one is simple. Cut everything else out of your diet for a while. If you want to reset your tastebuds, you have to stop eating the things that make you feel like those foods aren't delicious. The culprits for me are animal products and salt, primarily. For a lot of people sweets would be included in that.

Take time off of processed foods and animal products. Seriously. You'll sit down to some cherry tomatoes, spinach and avocado with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and think, "HOLY SHIT, this tastes freaking amazing, where has this BEEN ALL MY LIFE?" (I know, because that happened to me last week.)

Veggies have plenty of protein. Add in some beans and or tofu, and you're set. If it's cold and you're hungry, eat some oatmeal. (Not the sugary flavored crap. Plain + some cinnamon. Add some agave nectar or a few slices of fresh fruit if you want a little sweetness.) Drink some vanilla soy or almond milk. It's *delicious.*

And hummus. I can't say enough about hummus. HUMMUS. Did I mention I love hummus? Because: HUMMUUUUUUUUUS!

Thursday, January 2, 2014

As you can imagine, it's been the same virtual roller coaster of the same 20 pounds. And naturally, it's a new year and I am coming off of a multi-week bender of food and alcohol and whateverthefuckIwant. Funny how the things I want in the moment only lead me to feeling the absolute worst as a result.

Prior to the last month or so, I was maintaining a pretty healthy lifestyle, though was still not achieving the body I really want. On chase trips Skip and I will hike and eat veggies and hummus and mostly maintain a really healthy outlook. It helps that he's vegan.

I have been reading back through this blog, an amazing chronicle and account of what I've gone through in weight loss and fitness and such over the last several years, and I was even finding myself ... inspired by myself.

My husband and I have chatted about this Ex Hot Girl blog thing several times over the last 18 months while I've been absent here. (Meanwhile chasing and working like crazy,) and he encouraged me to come back but I never did.

Well, I'm back.

I'm back to blog more, to share with you my fitness and health goals, food issues and all of the things that I used to share with you.

Hopefully you'll run along with me and we'll renew our focus on ourselves together.

For me, it's back to low fat vegan / raw juicing and smoothies. I had a great deal of success on this (You don't have to scroll too far back to find this, but it was at the end of 2011,) and I'm ready to reset things to where they should be. Fall back in love with fruits and veggies again!

A quick update then, on what I've been up to and where I am. Like I mentioned, up and down between 160 and 180. Currently:

I actually started running in the late summer and found myself running 5k distances regularly. I wasn't losing weight during that time, but felt really good. I really was blown away that I had the need, the pull, the actual (wtf?) desire to run. It baffled me.

But, as soon as the weather turned bad, I joined a gym to tide me over during the winter... and it just wasn't the same at ALL. I discovered I absolutely loathe running on a treadmill. I do enjoy the weights and the elliptical for some reason. But, as of right now, I haven't been in about 3 weeks. When I started I was there several times a week but lapsed over the holidays and not feeling well. The sub zero temperatures in Milwaukee have also succeeded in keeping me in my house. /sadface.

SO! Here is a photo of my husband and I on New Years Eve this year, and a current shot of me before going out. HElloooooo, MAC makeup.

Friday, May 25, 2012

I've had some people asking if I'm okay. HA! Apparently that means I've been a bad EHG and haven't updated here enough. (Obviously.)

I'm around 175, struggling to lose and really just struggling to focus. Chasing / eating / eating / eating - vegetarianism makes it easier to eat more bread and sugar, and I just have to get back to plant-based eating. I have been working on being more active, walking more, etc.

I have been head-first into spring with weddings and chasing, so I do apologize for the lack of updates. :( If you want to keep up with me otherwise, feel free to do so on Facebook or check out my photography blog for the latest work, or the new storm chasing site for the latest work & then the blog. :)

Speaking of chasing, I just got back from a trip to North Dakota, so of course I had to make sure to see Miss Marilee from The Hicks Mix. Love that girl!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Well, I'm officially taking a little break from my social drinking. A whole evening of drinking is equivalent to a whole day's worth of food... and I love drinking! I do think that even with my healthy eating, the drinking was keeping too many calories in my body. I definitely like to drink, I mean, DRINK when I drink... but that really adds up those calories. For example:

So. Imagine I drink my usual 4-6 glasses of wine on a drinking night. And keep in mind they are LARGE glasses of wine, and absolutely not 5oz glasses. That's probably around 1,000 calories just for the alcohol. Or, if I drink five or so ciders... that's around 1,050 calories.

Add to that, after I drink, I always want to eat. It's easier to go to a diner and get breakfast food, or to go to Taco Bell or eat pizza or something.

Cutting out liquor for a while is a very easy way to cut calories. :)

In other news!

I just got back from a 3500 mile, 4-day storm chase. We had a huge cooler with tons of fruit and veg in it, and made healthy choices otherwise when we could (ie: salad & baked potato at wendy's, or subway instead of McDonald's or some other garbage.) -- I also wound up with a 12-hour flu or something after eating some shrimp / baked potato and chips & queso.

I'm doing the "Photogs who Lose it" weight loss group (locally) - and in two weeks I've gone from 171.8 to 169.2. I would like to maintain that loss, around 1 pound per week would be fine with me. Ultimately if I could drop another 10-13 pounds and be between 155 and 159 that'd be amazing. Here's hoping!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

First of all, just a quick reminder to come "like" me over on Facebook! While I might not post here ALL the time, I do post little tidbits, discussions, articles and deals over on the FB page. :) https://www.facebook.com/ExHotGirl

Okay, all. Remember my spiral veggie pasta? Well, the tool I use is on Groupon today... it's normally $50 but right now it's $24! I just wanted to share the deal with you guys, so CLICK HERE TO GET THE DEAL online!

In other news, I've been battling the sodium and overeating as usual. Back up to 174.8 as of Friday, so I have been juicing and eating small raw meals when I feel like I need to "chew" food. I'm probably down two pounds (much of that water weight, undoubtedly.)

I will be meeting up with some business partners for a sushi meal today so I am glad I have shrunken my stomach, hopefully I won't overdo it. I love sushi so much, it's tough!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

I'll admit that I skulk around skinnyvscurvy.com - it's one of my favorite websites because I like to torture myself by looking at beautiful celebrities. Although really, the people who run the site represent lots of various body types as beautiful and don't bash, for the most part.

Anyhoo, I had noticed in a recent commercial that Kelly Clarkson was looking fuller these days, and then I happened upon this post. Wow, wow.

Now, I will say, the shot on the left was right after American Idol when she was SUPER popular, and I noticed she LOST weight after American Idol. Presumably because of the pressure, stardom, touring, publicity and I'd also guess, pressure from her label. However, the difference is still stark.

Kelly, girl, I feel you. If you all want to know the kind of up and down roller coaster that I am used to... it's a lot like Kelly Clarkson's battle with extra weight. Up and down. Up and down. SO frustrating.

Oh, but did I mention... she's an amazing singer? And her new album is great? Because that's true, yo. The girl can blow.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Well, well, well. Damn I've been gone a long time again. I suck at this blogging thing lately!

Things have been extremely, unseasonably busy for me this winter. I have been doing a lot of fashion shoots, and even had a storm chase a few days ago. I have updated my storm website, you can visit it here:

My weight has been steady around 170-173 I would guess. I haven't been on the freaking treadmill in over a month, which I hope to get back on this week. My month of March seems MUCH more open and less busy than last month was. I also just got back from a trip to Denver, which involved less healthy eating... but I have been able to maintain a mostly vegetarian diet (not including fish/sushi on occasion.)

I look forward to getting back to my healthier routine. It's an ebb and flow, isn't it? :)

Disclosure.

This policy is valid from May 21st, 2009

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact Jennifer Brindley at (jennybeanjcb at msn dot com).

Any tips, suggestions, or pieces of information are shared in a purely self expressive manner. Before embarking on any diet or exercise plan, you should ALWAYS consult with your doctor. The owner of this blog does not take any responsibility for readers attempting or trying any methods, tips or suggestions. All information here is "try at your own risk," including listing of websites, resources or other information.

This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.